Measuring high school students' attitudes toward computing

Abstract

Many projects throughout the United States are underway that seek to increase the appeal of technology as a field of study. To better understand the impacts of such projects, validated instruments are needed which measure students' attitudes and beliefs in both and This paper describes the development and validation of two assessment instruments. One measures attitudes and beliefs about science; the other measures attitudes and beliefs about The questions that comprise these instruments are identical with the exception of the use of the terms computer science and information technology. Both instruments sought to measure five constructs: confidence, interest, gender, usefulness, and professional. Based on the results of factor analyses, high school students are able to distinguish among these constructs in but not in This raises questions as to what high school students understand about field of technology